Method of treating vegetable substances for the recovery oftheir values.



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MARK W. MARSDEN, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD 0F TREATING VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES FOR THE RECOVERY OF THEIR VALUES.

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MARK W. Mansnnn,'

for the Recovery of Their Values, of which i the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to the treatment of vegetable matter, and more particularly annual plants, such as cotton stalks, sugar cane, straw, and analogous growths, containing saccharin, starch, and invertible carbohydrates, as distinguished from those containing resinous or oily matter, for the removal of the extractive in such form as to permit of the easy rendering or recovery of the chemical values or by-products thereof, and for the ultimate recovery of the fibrous portion, consisting of welldefined' cylindrical bast fibers and short cellulose or woody fibers, which is available for the manufacture of a high grade of paper, or which, and this applies especially to the purified cotton cellulose, may be nitrated and after colloiding employed in the manufacture of smokeless powder either as a pulp dried in layers and afterward comminuted or disintegrated or as an unsized paper or in any other suitable form.

The commercial value of the cellular and fibrous portions as well as thelvarious by products of the stock mentioned is well lmown, but the methods of treatment heretofore in vogue are expensive and injurious because large quantities of chemicals were used to decompose the rather considerable amount of pectin and cementing matter present in the cellulose. Indeed, attempts were made to reduce the cost and to some extent have the treatment pay for itself by recovering and using the chemicals over and over again. The use of alkali, its recovery by causticizing, etc., are too well known to require comment. The losses of the alkali Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec, 28, 19115,

Application filed February 4, 1915. Serial No. 8,177.

.it impossible to recover the alkali except at the cost of all the sugar, and under perfe'ct conditions about ten per cent. of the stalks is convertible into sugar.

It is the object of the present invention to obviate and overcome the above mentioned disadvantages and-to provide for the economical separation and recovery ofthe extractive, and for the economical recovery of the fibrous portion of vegetable stock of the nature indicated, each of which operations is efiected by my method of treatment without the aid of. alkali or equivalent chemical substance and in such a way as to insure a maximum yieldof bast and cellulosio fibers retaining all of their original strength and pliancy. With this and other objects in view my invention resides the matters hereinafter described and claimed.

The stock remainder, after harvesting, is

out, into uniform lengths of from one to two" inches and steeped or soaked in a bath of hot'or cold water until complete saturationoccurs whereby it undergoes a conditionin not unlike retting as applied to the flax p ant, the effect of which is to loosen the outer coating of the bark and soften thewoody fibrous tissue. "When this is accomplished, the stock is removed from the bath andfrun through a grinderor shredder, which breaks up thecut stalks into a uniform and fibrous mass. This is put in-a closed digester containing water and steamunder a pressure of from ten to forty pounds, more or less. The effect of this treatment with heat, moisture, and pressure, is to separate and dissolve the soluble bodies and to convert the starch and invertible carbohydrates into saccharin. it is evident that the initial treatment of softening and shredding the the sugars, residual gums, coloring matter,

and other valuable components, and this re-'- covery may beaccomplished by inversion, fermentation, distillation, or in any appropriate way. The comparatively pure fibrous portion, that is to say the stock relieved of its extractive and with the liquor drawn oil, is now subjected to the direct action of steam at a pressure in excess of that previously employed. This operation may be facilitated and shortened if the fibrous material is subjected to a shaking or tumbling action so as to present all parts thereof to the pressure scouring and separating action of the steam. The efiect of this treatment is to separate the fibers and to condition them for their after treatment in the ordinary beating engine for the manufacture of pulp. When so reduced and if desired the pulp may be bleached or colored in any ap ropriate manner.-

s regards the purecellulose obtained from cotton stalks by the above method of treatment, the presence of a large percentage of short woody fibers in admixture with the long bast fibers will be of benefit to it for paper making since-one class of fibers will complement the other,uthe long fibers interlacing'and strengthening the sheet and the shorter ones filling in and giving it -body. Both are equally capable of conversion into pyroxylin and gun cotton and "available for celluloid or smokeless powder manufacture. Test treatments demonstrated that nitration took place readily and that an excellent product with a high-percentage of nitrogen was obtainable. This applies to the pulp as well as to paper both of which are contemplated by this invention.

Having described the nature and objects of the invention, I claim 1. The herein described method of treating vegetable matter containing starch and invertible carbohydrates for the recovery of its values, which consists in subjecting it in a uniformly divided state to an initial treatment analogous to retting, digesting it in carbohydrates into saccharin, drawing oil? and recovering the liquor in the form of useful by-products, and subjecting the fibrous material to the direct action of steam at a treatment analogous to retting, then shredding it, then digesting it in the presence of 4 7 water and steam pressure in order to convert the starch andinvertible carbohydrates into saccharin, drawing off and recovering the liquor in the form of useful by-products, and subjecting the fibrous material to the direct action of steam at a pressure in excess of that previously employed.

' 3. The herein described method of treat-. ing vegetable matter containing starch and invertible carbohydrates for the recovery of its values, which consists in immersing it in lengths of from one to two. inches in water.

until complete saturation takes place, then shredding it, then digesting it in the presence of water and steam pressure of from ten to forty pounds, more or less, until. the

extractive is in the form of a saccharin.

liquor, drawing off and recovering. the liquor in the form of useful lay-products, subjecting the fibrous material to the direct action of steam at a pressure in excess of that previously employed, and thereafter proceeding in any suitable manner for the manufacture of pulp or paper.

4. The

herein described method of treating vegetable matter containing starch and invertible carbohydrates for the recovery of its values, which consists in subjecting it in comparatively short lengths to saturation with water, then shredding it, then digesting it in the presence of water and steam pressure in order to convert the starch and invertible carbohydrates into saccharin,

the fibrous material to agitation in the presence of steam at a pressure in excess of that previously employed.

5. The herein described method of treating vegetable matter containing starch and invertible carbohydrates for the. recovery of its values, which consists in subjecting it in comparatively short lengths to saturation withwater, then shredding it, then digesting it in the presence of water and steam pressure in order to convert the starch and drawing off and recovering the liquor in the a formof useful by-products, and subjecting invertible carbohydrates into saccharin,

drawing ofi' and recovering the liquor in the form ofuseful, by-products, steam scouring the presence of water and steam pressure in order to convert the starch and invertible the fibrous material and agitating the latter so as to present all parts thereof to the ac- -tion of the steam, and thereafter proceeding in any suitablemanner for the manufacture .of paper.

herein described method of treatmatter containing starch and 6. The ing vegetable invertible carbohydrates for the recovery of itsvalues, which consists in subjecting it in [comparatively short lengths to saturation meeeee {e3 in the form of useful by-products, and tumbling or shaking the fibrous material in the presence of steam at a pressure in excess of that previously employed.

In testimony whereof. I afix my simeture in presence of two Witnesses MARK W. MARSDEN.

Witnesses:

E. W. STRAIN, ALLAN I. HUCKINS. 

